Immigration Lawyer Michael Niren Quoted: Are Temporary Foreign Workers Being Taken Advantage Of?

Immigration lawyer Michael Niren was quoted in this recently published CBC article on the status of Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada.

According to the article, Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada are sometimes being taken advantage of by employers who aren’t treating them fairly – including big-name fast food giants.

The article profiles one such worker in Saskatchewan, who said that while working for Tim Hortons nothing turned out to be as expected. He had no arrangements to get to or from work, and his arranged accommodation was in the basement of the friend of a franchise owner – with five other foreign workers who shared a microwave and a bar fridge. But the allegations aren’t only about the living conditions, there are also allegations that he was not paid as much as he should have been due to confusion over holidays.

Calling the allegations “pretty shocking”, he also told CBC news that foreign workers are “supposed to be treated like you and I.”

He continued, “I’m not a fan so much of what the government has done with respect to immigration regulations in the last year or two, but when it comes to the temporary foreign worker program, I do commend them in their efforts in making sure that Canadian employers do comply with employment standards and I think they’ve done a really good job.”

However, there is a serious issue with middlemen like immigration consultants, who are used as agents in foreign countries to help recruit these workers and end up making false promises.

Please click this link to read more on this story from the CBC.